Posted by vision360ministries. Comments Off on Look What the Lord Has Done!

A few years ago, ok maybe more than a few, we used to sing a song “Look what the Lord has done” praising God for His salvation and all He has done in our lives. After spending two weeks at Hope Mission in Mozambique and visiting with church leaders and a couple of village churches we can only exclaim “Look what the Lord has done” and continues to do among the Makua people. This is not to exalt Kléber and Juracema for their great work, because they are the first to acknowledge that they had no great plans when they arrived in Nampula other than to plant churches among the Makua people whose primary religion is a mixture of Islam, animism and Spiritism. They just prayed hard and often and God showed them each step to take.

Now, 20 years later, we were able to stay with them in their new house at Hope Mission, walk the grounds and see what the Lord has done. We saw the boys dormitory nearing completion which will be able to house over 50 boys and youth. We saw the 60 boys and girls who are now living at Hope Home where they have 3 regular meals a day, grow in their faith, and further their education. We saw the school where over 1000 children study every day, including the Bible, most of whom come from Muslim homes. We saw the dedication of the teachers, all of whom are followers of Jesus, having grown up at the mission, now furthering their education at a college level and being an example to the younger children in faith and life. We met with the church leaders teaching them the principles and disciplines of their devotional lives and just visiting with them, hearing their stories of victories and struggles in ministry. Many of the pastors and leaders of the 60 churches planted among their people were there.

We heard about the water filters that Vision 360 purchased to test in their homes. We saw the smiles on their faces as they told about the clean water they were now drinking. We even heard the story of the one pastor who had no water in his house but the dirty dish water after his wife washed the dishes. He poured the dirty water in his filter and, to his amazement and joy, later filled a glass with clear, clean water.

We have a lot more to tell, like the beets we saw in the garden the size of softballs and how the garden continues to supplement their meals each day. However, it might be better to give it to you installments instead of all at once.

We do want you to know that God is doing a great work in Mozambique and you are a part of it. This is not to say all is perfect and there are no problems. On the contrary there are plenty of issues to work out as these people grow in their faith. But that is true of all of us no matter where we live. We just want to praise God for what He is doing among the Makua people in northern Mozambique and to thank you for faithfully partnering with us as we come along these brothers and sisters to help make their lives just a little bit better each year.

We just returned to Tennessee from a week of camp in Wisconsin with 8th and 9th graders. It was a great week and God blessed Vision 360 Ministries with an offering of over $1,300.00. The goal was $1,000.00 so the people were generous, the Makua people will be blessed, and God will be praised.

We have sent $10,000.00 so far for the construction of the boys dormitory in Mozambique. The boys were sleeping in the room designated for the school library. However, with the increase in the number of students they are now using this room as a classroom and the boys are sleeping in a couple of houses at the mission. You can see the progress of the construction in these pictures. We are sending another $5,000.00 this week which will finish the walls and get everything ready for the next step which will be the roof.

We praise God for your participation in Vision 360 Ministries making it possible for the boys to have a better place to sleep. We had already purchased bunk beds and mattresses for them.

We are leaving on August 23rd for Mozambique. Justin Carter, the minister at Cornerstone Church in Eau Claire, WI and Hollie Becker, from Casper, WY are going with us. Hollie has a heart to work with under privileged children. Please pray for health, safety and effective ministry for this trip. We plan to return on September 10th. Kléber and Juracema are moving into their new home which was built at the mission. Please pray for a smooth transition for them and God’s protection over them.

Once again we praise God for you, our faithful mission partners who are making it possible for the ministry of Vision 360 to encourage missionaries, train leaders, and help the Makua people get out of the extreme poverty in which they live.

Posted by vision360ministries. Comments Off on GOOD NEWS FROM TENNESSEE!

God is on His throne, reigning sovereignly over His universe. This is an eternal truth from God’s word. No matter what happens around us, this truth is like a rock upon which we can build our lives. God is not distant. He is at work every day desiring the best for each of us. We who have more, share with those who have less and in God’s economy everyone gets blessed.

We are helping our brothers and sisters in Mozambique get out of the extreme poverty in which they live. We know that this is going to take time, but praise God for the progress being made. Sixty children and youth live at Hope Home which is a part Hope Mission in Nampula, Mozambique. Brazilian missionaries, Kléber and Juracema, started this Mission 19 years ago and what God has done through their ministry is amazing. Some 60 churches have been planted and many of these leaders come to Nampula every month for training. The children and youth who live at Hope Home come from those churches. They have come to Hope Mission to develop spiritually, have 3 regular meals a day and further their education so they can look forward to a better future.

Your participation in Vision 360 Ministries is a great encouragement to the Makua people. Last month we sent $4,000.00 to help care for the young lives you are sponsoring. We also sent $5,000.00 to begin the construction of the boy’s dormitory which will provide a place for the boys to sleep. Right now they are sleeping wherever Kléber can find a space for them. We still need $25,000.00 to finish this dormitory. Please pray for our Makua friends and that God will provide for this need. Soon we will be posting pictures of the construction.

We share this blog so that you can rejoice with us for what God is doing in Mozambique. We also ask you to continually pray for Kléber and Juracema and the church among the Makua people. The challenges for this ministry are great, but our God is even greater. That is why we and they need your prayers.

BRAZIL: Thursday we travel to Brazil. We will be visiting the church we worked with while living there as well as several individuals from this church. These relationships that were established when we lived there continue on via the internet. We will also lead a seminar on marriage and the family at the new church plant in Luziania led by Dinho and Leila, a couple we have been discipling for several years. We also will be helping Neide’s mother prepare for her move to the U.S. and spending time with Neide’s aunt who is struggling with Parkinsons disease. Please hold this trip; our health, the many ministry opportunities we will have before the Lord. We totally depend on God to accomplish anything for Him and His Kingdom. That is why your prayers are so important.

Yesterday I (Bruce) had the opportunity to talk to Kléber in Mozambique, by Skype. The work there is progressing well. Whereas before their focus of attention was on the villages along the coast now they have an opportunity to plant churches to the west of Nampula, in the direction of Malawi. They are very excited about the new doors for church planting that God has opened to them. They also ask for our continued prayers for new leaders and the growth of the leaders already in place. Leadership is the key to the development of the church in any part of the world.

The work on their house and the 3 houses for leaders at the Mission are near completion. They hope to move into their new house by the end of the year which will free them from paying rent. It will also save travel time to and from the mission.

Also, there are several youth who now live at the Mission who are ready for high school studies. This will give them the education they need to have a better future. If you would like to sponsor one of these young people as they further their education, please contact us at colson360@yahoo.com.

Recently we have shared how the church in Eau Claire, WI had taken on the Clean Water Project for the Makua people. Previous blogs will give you information on this project. The goal was to raise $10,000.00 to provide filters for our Makua brothers and sisters to have clean water to drink and use for cooking. This was a great challenge for the Eau Claire Church. Now we can praise God, with them, for the nearly $12,000.00 raised for this project. Thank you, Van Jorstad, who first caught this vision and for the leadership at Cornerstone Christisan Church for their work and support of this project. Our first step will be to try to purchase some filters from a factory in Tanzania to test in several homes. During our next trip in September we plan to do the necessary research to possibly build a factory on the Mission in Nampula to continually provide filters for the families in Northern Mozambique.

Please, keep all these things on your prayer list. It is true that all of us can only accomplish what God does through us. Praise God for what He is doing in Mozambique. Praise God for His people here and in Brazil who faithfully support this work. Pray for His continued presence and guidance. Also be in prayer for our next trip to Mozambique scheduled for the first part of September. Pray for God’s guidance as we prepare the studies and other necessary details. If you would like to help with the expenses you can now donate online. Just click on the “menu item” button and a window will open to give online.

Almost 18 years ago Kléber and Juracema went to Northern Mozambique to preach the gospel to the Makua people, an unreached people group of over 400,000 people. Today there are some 50 churches planted among these people and a new church to reach another people group called the “Coti”. Most of these people are subsistent farmers, that is, they are trying to grow enough food to live on. And they struggle to do that. As we help these people grow in their faith and become more like Jesus we cannot ignore the extreme poverty in which they live. Rom.12:13 admonishes us to “share with God’s people who are in need”. The average life expectancy of these people is 40. Many of them live on the equivalent of $1 a day. Many children die from diseases related to poor diet, unclean water, poor hygiene practices and Aids. WHO (World Health Organization) says that five million people die every year from diseases related to the above mentioned situation. WHO also relates that at any given time, almost half the people in developing countries suffer from water related diseases. The goal of Vision 360 Ministries is to come alongside missionaries and the churches they serve to help and encourage in every way possible. We have seen, first hand, the need for clean water for the people who live in the rural areas of Northern Mozambique. They are drinking water from rivers or shallow wells which is often dirty and contaminated without any means of filtering this water. As we shared this need with Van Jorstad from the church in Eau Claire, WI, he became concerned about our brothers and sisters in Mozambique and determined to rally the church and community to raise $10,000.00 to initiate the clean water project for Mozambique. On June 6th there will be a race (walk, run, bicycle) for clean water in Eau Claire. Their goal is to have 1000 people participate who will each pay a $10 registration fee. There are 500 families associated with these 50 churches that have been planted in northern Mozambique. Most of them need the filters this project will provide. Even if you cannot participate in the race/walk/run you can donate to this important project. You can go to the church’s website – http://cornerstonechristian-ec.org/water_project.html – and there is a place to register and/or donate online. There is also a picture and description of the filter we are planning to make available to the Makua people.

Please, make this project and the health of the Makua people a part of your prayer time. This is an ambitious goal for the church in Eau Claire, but we believe that through His people, God can do it! Blessings, Bruce and Neide Colson.

Posted by vision360ministries. Comments Off on HAVE A BLESSED AND VICTORIOUS 2015

First, our prayer for you is that you had a Christ focused and joyous Christmas. We also pray that God will guide, protect, bless and give you many victories in 2015.

The New Year is always exciting because it presents us with new opportunities and expectations. There is something about the word “new” that excites us because it gives us renewed hope that we can accomplish what was either not possible or left undone in the past. We are not a people of the past even though we learn much from the past. The Apostle Paul put it best in Phil. 3:13b-14 when he wrote “But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind ad straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

What we did or did not accomplish in 2014 is behind us. What happened or failed to take place in 2014 is behind us. As followers of Jesus we look ahead. We learn from our past mistakes, failures and accomplishments. But now we look ahead. What is ahead of us in 2015? Paul encourages us to work hard at what is ahead of us, i.e. the goal of winning the prize to which God has called us in Christ Jesus. That is our focus for 2015! Our focus is on our Heavenly Father, His will and purpose for our lives. When that focus is in first place, everything else will fall into place.

Our focus for Vision 360 Ministries is to keep on making ourselves available to God and to keep on working on the projects he has set before us. We continue to make ourselves available to visit and encourage missionaries in Brazil, Germany and Mozambique. We continue to make ourselves available to help train leaders in these countries, as well as in the U.S. and anywhere else God might lead us. We continue to fight for justice to be done among the impoverished Makua and Coti people in Northern Mozambique by helping them work their way out of their poverty. This includes providing the set up costs for raising chicken at the Hope home in Nampula, providing clean water and health for the people in the 50+ churches in Northern Mozambique. It also includes finishing the book God has laid on my heart to write entitled “A Church For the Praise of His Glory” (Eph. 1:6, 12,14).

We are excited about 2015! Sure there will be hurdles to overcome and there will be challenges we are not even aware of yet. But our God is faithful. He can do, through each of us, “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephe.3:20). Let us work together to accomplish what is before us. What’s the key? One word. PRAYER! Please join us in prayer as we seek to be faithful to God in this ministry that He has put before us. We also want to pray for your lives and ministry. Please let us know how we can do that specifically by email colson360@yahoo.com . Also, please, note the following changes in our cell phone numbers: Neide – (423) 557-5115 and Bruce – (423) 557-5722.

Posted by vision360ministries. Comments Off on HOUSING PROGRESS AT HOPE MISSION

Kléber and Juracema are in the process of building a Director’s house at Hope Mission in Nampula. Vision 360 has financially helped to build this house. This will help them to no longer pay rent, help them oversee the school and the Hope Home, as well as save them a lot of travel time. The leaders’ housing is important for security reasons. Having other houses near theirs will help create a community aspect and allow them to look out for each other.

Praise God for the progress already made. Let’s continue to pray for this project and the future of Hope Mission, hope Home and the churches in Northern Mozambique among the Makua and now Coti people.